


Vault 24: A Fallout Story

by ChezburgerWithFries



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 1, Fallout 2, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, Fallout 76, Fallout: New Vegas
Genre: Gen, Vault 24
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:00:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29792271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChezburgerWithFries/pseuds/ChezburgerWithFries
Summary: A Vault-Tec experiment gone wrong causes an entire vault to fall into chaos.  Factions are formed, friends are turned against each other, and one question is asked by all: What’s outside of Vault 24?
Kudos: 5





	Vault 24: A Fallout Story

“Honey, wake up, you’re gonna miss the morning announcements!” Groaning, the boy shifts around in his bed, slowly wiping the sleep from his eyes. Opening them, he looks up to see his mother standing over his bed, arms crossed. “Come on, Eric, don’t make me drag you out of bed.”

“Jeez, Mom, what time is it?” He looks over at his alarm clock. It was the afternoon. “Oh no.”

“‘Oh no’ is right, you overslept on the anniversary of the vault, now hurry up and get ready, the Overseer will be making the big announcement in thirty minutes, you don’t want to miss it.”

“I know, Mom, calm down. I’ll be ready, just let me get dressed.” Eric slowly slips out of bed, wearily walking over to his dresser. His mom begins to leave but stops at the door.

“I brought breakfast back from the cafeteria, do you want me to heat it up for you?” Eric pulls out a practical blue and yellow jumpsuit and begins putting it on.

“I can do it, Mom, I’m sixteen years old,” he says with a scowl.

“You better change that attitude before you go out, I’m only trying to help you. You know your father and I… well, we’re just looking out for you.” Eric sighs and fixes his gaze onto his mother whilst zipping up his jumpsuit.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap. I’ll be out in a minute.” His mother stares for a moment, then nods and leaves, closing the door behind her. Eric staggers his way to the bathroom, turning on the lights and gazing into the mirror. He sees himself from the night before, partying away with Will and Jan, his best friends since birth. It was a night full of drinking and dancing, a night Eric wouldn’t soon forget. Or maybe he already had, it’s hard to say. His head is pounding. He had never drunk booze until that night, and now that he had, he couldn’t see the appeal. All it caused was a weighty headache and vague memories of the other teens making fools of themselves. None of the adults knew, supposedly, as they were all partying themselves. Still, he was sure that they would notice the large supply of alcohol that had gone missing overnight.

Leaving his bedroom, Eric enters his family’s dining room. From what Eric had heard, the dining rooms in the vault were quite small compared to the ones from before the war. They were supposedly large and elegant, with tables as long as a vault atrium, or as small as a radroach. The details weren’t always consistent, but Eric had to make do with what information was available in the vault library. He notices a tray of food sitting on the short kitchen counter. On it was a bowl of Sugar Bombs and a baked potato, his favorite. Not to say it was very good, seeing as there were so few types of food to choose from in the vault, but it was better than some of the alternatives. Grabbing the potato from the tray, he tosses it into the oven. He then leans back against the counter and watches as the oven quickly heats the potato in seconds. It amazed him that this technology, the very energy that powered the vault, was partly the reason they had been forced underground to begin with.

_Ting!_

He snatches an oven mitt from a drawer and pulls out the potato, setting it back down on the tray. Eric then grabs some utensils from a drawer and sits down, but before he can start chowing down, he hears a familiar voice humming down the hallway, getting closer and closer until it is right outside the door.

“Knock knock, is it alright to come in Mr. Eric?”

“Yes, Stanley, you can come into _our_ kitchen.” The door opens, revealing a chrome Mister Handy robot. It enters the room and glides over to the coffee maker.

“Sorry sir, it is in my directives by order of your parents to always ask to enter a room. I believe it is so that I don’t impede on their alone time, if you will,” Stanley says, as he sifts through the different coffee packets.

“Gross, Stanley, don’t talk about my parent’s ‘alone time’ with me again.”

“My apologies sir, from now on I shall call it intercourse. Now then, would you like some coffee, sir?” Eric sighs.

“That would be great, Stanley, thank you.” As Eric continues eating his breakfast, he watches as the robot butler swiftly performs each task with perfectly calculated movements. It was still fascinating to watch even after sixteen years of being surrounded by it. One of the robot's eyes looks back at Eric.

“Would you like me to turn on some music while you eat, sir? I can play your favorite on the jukebox.”

“No thanks, Stanley, my head is killing me.” Eric rubs at his temple, wishing it would help.

“Too much to drink last night, I presume?” Eric looks at Stanley in shock, then quickly checks around the room to make sure nobody heard.

“How did you know about that?”

“Mr. Eric, did you not know that there are Mister Handy robots that keep up with our stock on everything from food to drinks?” Eric buries his head in his hands, feeling like an idiot for not realizing that fact. “Not to worry, sir,” Stanley says reassuringly. “Your secret is safe with me. Unless, of course, everyone finds out, in which case my code requires me to tell the truth to your parents and the Overseer.”

“Thanks for not worrying me,” Eric groans sarcastically. “God, what will happen if everyone finds out?”

“It’s not as much a matter of if, but when. By my calculations, they should’ve found out around 5 hours ago, so perhaps you are in the clear.” Stanley grabs a mug from the pantry and lays it down on the kitchen counter. In his other hand is the coffee pot, which he uses to fill up Eric’s mug. He takes a sip.

“Thanks, Stanley, I’m feeling better already.”

“Glad to serve, sir! Now, you better eat up, the Overseer’s speech is in an hour, and your mother specifically said she does not want you to be late.” Eric rolls his eyes.

“Is dad gonna be there?”

“Your father informed me that he may not be able to attend the speech, as he has recently stumbled upon a new scientific discovery that could-”

“Nevermind, Stanley. I could’ve guessed he wouldn’t be there,” Eric bitterly states as he lays his chin on his crossed arms sitting on the table. “When was the last time I saw him, Stanley?”

“Nine days, seventeen hours, forty-two minutes, and twelve seconds exactly, sir.” This should’ve surprised Eric, but it didn’t. At this point, it was typical to go this long without seeing his dad. “You miss him, don’t you sir?”

For a quiet moment, Eric refuses to respond. He just sits and stares out the rectangular window, watching the empty hallway. The sound of the ice maker in the fridge breaks his trance, and he looks back to Stanley, who’s waiting for an obvious answer to a difficult question.

“You were right, I better get going or I’ll be late.” He quickly hops off his chair and heads for the door. “Put the rest of that food in the fridge, I’m sure I’ll eat it later.”

“Yes sir!” Eric elbows a button beside the sliding door, quickly opening it. Before he can make it out the door, Stanley yells out, “Don’t forget your coffee, sir!”

* * *

“Anybody else feel like shit after last night?” Will asks as if there were more people than just Eric and Jan listening in. Eric nods as he takes another sip from his mug.

“Hangovers are now my least favorite feeling in the world,” says Jan as she rubs her head sulkily.

“I still think the worst feeling to me is getting bit by a radroach. You wouldn’t think it, but those suckers have sharp teeth. Probably would’ve bit my hand off if Officer Reed hadn’t yanked it off me,” Will remarks.

“I won’t lie, that was really funny, I remember it like it was yesterday,” Jan says banteringly. “You were like ‘ah a giant radroach’ and the radroach was like ‘om nom give me your hand’ and you were crying like a baby. Funnily enough, that radroach turned out to be a baby too, so at least you guys had that in common.” Eric joins in the laughter, as Will helplessly blushes.

“Oh fuck off, the doctor said I could have gotten something if the radiation reached my bloodstream, it was very serious.”

“Well you aren’t dead yet, so until that day comes I’ll keep laughing all I want,” Jan says with a smile as Will sneers back at her. Eric checks the time on his Pip-Boy.

“If you two are done fighting like an old married couple, your dad’s speech is about to start.”

“Why do you care so much about hearing his speech? It’s just gonna be the same thing as last year, and the year before that, and the…” Eric cuts Jan off before she can continue her repetitive statement.

“It’s not just gonna be the same as last year, it’s the vault’s 100th anniversary, and we are all supposed to be there, so stop complaining and let’s go.” The two siblings look at each other and sigh. Eric understood what that meant. Being the children of the Overseer was almost as tiring as being the Overseer. Vault residents look at you differently when they expect you to be the future leader of the home they live in. It’s a lot of pressure to put on children, and it’s even worse as a teenager. Will and Jan would rant to Eric for hours about the expectations they knew they wouldn’t live up to, and it was clearly taxing on them mentally. Still, Eric could see them both becoming Overseer one day.

As they head to the vault atrium, Eric watches Mr. Handys sweep the hallway floors, which are littered with confetti and balloons from the night before. A banner hangs over the doorway to the atrium, _Happy 100th Anniversary Vault 24_. Eric often thought about the original vault residents, the ones who started life above ground. As he walks the mildly crowded passage, he wonders what they’d think now, knowing that no one has left the vault in an entire century. He had always hoped that in his lifetime he would be able to see the outside world, but for some reason, that seemed unlikely to him now.

The atrium is full of life, almost everyone in the vault is there. Countless pews are set up, as well as a stage at the end of the room, where Eric could see the Overseer and his father talking. For a moment Eric’s hopes are raised, but quickly lowered as he watches his father walk out, most likely going back to his lab. He should’ve known better.

“Let’s go sit by Eric’s mom,” Jan says, glancing at Eric from the corner of her eye. He sighs and starts toward the empty seats beside his mother.

“Eric, there you are! I almost thought you weren’t going to show up.” Eric sits down next to her, Jan and Will following close behind.

“Hi Missus Jones,” Will says with an awkward smile. “You’re looking lovely as ever.”

“Oh Will, you’re too kind. How are you two?” she asks, looking over to Jan and Will. Eric quickly casts his eyes over to Will, giving him a look that says ‘ _don’t mention the headache’_.

“We’re doing well, Missus Jones,” says Jan, swiftly chiming in. “How is Mister Jones?”

Eric looks to his mother, her face cracking for only a millisecond, but quickly snapping back to a smile. He understood exactly what she wanted to say but couldn’t. He often had the same thought, but the two of them kept these thoughts to themselves. In their eyes, it was a selfish thought to have.

“You know him, always on the cusp of some great scientific discovery. Eric and I are very proud of him.” She pauses, her gaze drifting away. She then pivots back to Jan and Will. “It’s good to see the two of you again.”

“Excuse me, everyone, quiet down. If you would, please take your seats.” Eric looks over and sees the Overseer standing with a microphone to his lips. The vault residents slowly move to their seats as the sound of life is sucked out of the room like a vacuum. “Thank you, all of you, truly, for joining me here today. You know by now I am not one for making speeches, so I’ll skip over all the mushy bits and get to what we’re here for.

“One hundred years ago, when the world as it once was became what it is now, we were brought down here and saved from what was the end of the old America. Now, a century later, we are still here, and we are working every day to prepare for the new America. The America that our children and grandchildren will claim and prosper in. The America that will save the human race. That America starts with us, and I’m proud to be the Overseer of that overhauled American dream.” He stops as the vault residents clap and cheer, Eric being the loudest. He glances over and notices Jan and Will are not nearly as enthusiastic.

“Why do I say all of this? Many of you have wondered when we would be able to leave Vault 24. I, myself, have often wondered the same thing. However, this morning I was given a very special Vault-Tec holotape, one that may hold the key to our future. So, without further ado, let’s discover our future together.” Edward signals to a Mr. Handy, who rolls out a cart with a projector. At the same time, a projector screen is slowly lowered behind the Overseer, as he hops off the stage and sits at an empty seat near the front row. The projector stutters to life, as an image of a painted vault door appears on the screen. The door choppily opens as a cartoon boy, blonde and wearing a blue and yellow vault suit, appears and waves to the audience. Every vault dweller could recognize the mascot, as he was practically plastered on every piece of media Vault-Tec had created before the bombs fell.

“Life in a vault can be difficult,” says the narrator voice, which has also become quite recognizable by the citizens of the vault. “But it is a necessary evil, as the rebuilding of America falls on you.”

Will and Jan sigh almost in unison. They had heard these words a thousand times before. Maybe in a different order, but always with the same meaning. The disappointment in the room, although quiet, is as loud as cymbals being smashed in one’s ears. However, that mood changes quickly when the next words are spoken.

“However, that evil has now passed,” the narrator says as the cartoon boy looks around, as if checking to see if the coast is clear. He walks out and starts scouring the painted wasteland. “It is time for you to emerge, and uncover what we have lost following total atomic annihilation.”

The projection pauses and the vault falls silent. Heads turn, eyes darting from person to person, everybody in the room confused by what they have just heard.

“What did it say?” a voice calls out from the back.

“Is it true? Can we leave the vault?” asks another voice. Many more voices join in, as the atrium becomes increasingly clamorous. Eric’s eyes slowly widen, as his excitement grows from the thought. The Overseer quickly jumps back on stage.

“Settle down everyone, settle down! I have just as many questions as you, we’re all in the same boat here. The only answer I can give you is this; if Vault-Tec says it is time to leave, then we leave.”

“We can’t all go out there, we’ll die!” Many voices shout in agreement.

“There’s no way of knowing what is out there! It’s safer for us to stay down here!” The crowd starts getting riled up, as the Overseer desperately tries to hold his control over the vault residents.

“I hear what you’re saying, and you are right. We cannot send everyone out at once, it’s not safe. But we can’t just stay stuck down here either. We need to see what is out there. I say we send a reconnaissance team out to investigate the world above. If all goes well, they find a place for us to start rebuilding, and then we do exactly that. That is what we were meant to do, that’s why Vault-Tec chose our parents and grandparents to live in this vault, and that is why we are here today. So, who is with me?”

“I am!” The lone voice comes from the back. Eric recognizes the voice, as he gradually turns to see his father, standing in the doorway with his hand raised. “Put me on that recon team. I’m with you all the way, Edward.”


End file.
